Edna Pontellier Wants to Swim- The Awakening

A detailed Summary of Edna Pontellier Wants to Swim- The Awakening


Edna Pontillier is a woman playing the role of the wealthy New Orleans housewife. She has a generous husband, children, financial stability, and a great deal of friends. What she also has, unfortunately, is a kind of generic happiness that is the result of such a conventional society. Edna begins to change, and like a small chip of ice breaking away from a huge iceberg, she heads out into the ocean alone. It seems that it's almost not possible for her to follow society's rules any longer, and she just stops doing it, without even making the decision to. She begins to want more. Edna craves mental exercise, personal independence, and company that she can feel equal to (unlike her husband). Edna was far ahead of her time to crave such things. This behavior was considered unacceptable and vulgar. This leaves Edna very alone in her search for what she wants in life. She thinks Robert is what she needs, but soon enough discovers he certainly is not. She makes a choice, and many events lead up to this final act of suicide.

Edna realizes she is till very young and has grown numb to feelings of vitality, love, and freedom; her spirit has become nonexistent.


After getting to know Edna Pontillier for the whole novel and watch her change, her suicide was not a shock. It was characteristic of the personality developing inside of her. It was what she felt like doing at the time, and since she had the freedom to, it was her final act of independence. She couldn't stay in the life she had now, and she didn't want to run away from it either. She gave in to the water of the ocean and to the deep sleep, two themes that were part of her life. However, this is the nap she would never awaken from.

What she discovers are things she could not ignore. The first changes occurred when she began sleeping when she pleased and spent time doing want she wanted, mostly painting or swimming. She also began to break away from her husband's oppression. He would attempt to control her by telling her what to do, as he had always done, except that now she just sort of ignored him. The truth was that her marriage had dehumanized her and she was no longer an individual. He believed she was mentally ill. She had awakened, and could not return to her previous self.

Robert is the man she falls in love with. When she is with him, she is herself, and she is his equal. He is a major reason why she awakened from her "long, stupid dream." She doesn't have an affair with him though, but she does come to the point wh

Some common words found in the essay are:
Edna Pontillier, edna pontillier, final act, stay life,

Approximate Word count = 907
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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